1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a produce trailer and trailer cage for receiving, transporting and dumping produce. The invention has particular applicability to sugar beets. During use, the trailer and trailer cage receives sugar beets from one location such as the harvest field and delivers them to a second location such as a processing facility.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various trailer designs and systems currently exist for transporting produce such as sugar beets from a first location such as the harvest field and delivering the same to a second location such as a processing facility. One such trailer and trailer cage system includes a generally rigid trailer cage and a plurality of adjacent, top pivoting side gates along one side. To unload such trailer, the plurality of adjacent side gates are unlatched along their lower edge and the trailer is tipped toward the gate side. This causes the gates to swing open and the sugar beets or other produce to slide off the trailer and into a receiving hopper at a processing facility.
While such prior art trailer designs of this type are satisfactory in many respects, various limitations continue to exist. Because these prior art trailer and cage designs have multiple side gates and because the prior art cages are comprised of a substantially rigid structure, openings often existed between the gates themselves and between the bottom of the gates and the curved trailer bed. As a result, it was common for smaller sugar beets or other produce to fall through these openings. Thus, there is a continuing problem of keeping the entire harvested crop in the trailer.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a produce trailer and trailer cage design which overcomes these deficiencies, among others, in the prior art.